In meetings with interested Parliamentarians, pork producers and exporters pointed out the concerns which led to suspension of negotiations in 2008 have been resolved or addressed in the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.

"The negotiations with Korea have been stalled since 2008," said Canada Pork International Chairman Edouard Asnong. "Canada is the second largest exporter of pork to Korea and expects to ship $300 million of pork products mostly from Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta."

The pork industry is concerned that competitors like Chile and the EU who already have an FTA with South Korea enjoy preferential access and that it will completely push Canadian pork out of a key market. US exporters are already benefitting from anticipation of rapid removal of high tariffs under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) which only requires ratification by the South Korean parliament.

Over the next two years, the Canadian industry risks losing the existing C$300 million in exports and the additional hundreds of millions that could be secured if existing tariffs which range up to 25 per cent were eliminated on the same basis as for the USA. The Standing Committee on International Trade (SCIT) in its 2008 Study of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Negotiations did not recommend the negotiations be abandoned; they outlined objectives to resolve concerns in continuing negotiations.

Richard Davies of Olymel said: "By 2016, the US will have no duty on chilled and frozen pork while we will pay 22.5 per cent and 25.0 per cent respectively. Even though the full reductions will not occur immediately, they will cumulate quickly. With this disadvantage our Korean business will be gone within two years."

Barry Sutton, Vice President of Maple Leaf Foods explained, "Negotiations with Korea must be resumed. The pork export sectors were not pleased with the Korean offers in 2007. Nor were our US counterparts and they continued their negotiations until US pork received a better deal. We are here asking the Government of Canada to stand up for our interests in the South Korea market."

"It is unfortunate that no meetings or negotiations have taken place for the past three years," Jurgen Preugschas, Chairman of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) commented. "Canada needs access to Korea and its disappointing that after 13 negotiating sessions, virtually all of them generating positive signals, the discussion stopped."